


Frozen Pines

by keysmash_ghost



Category: Buzzfeed Unsolved (Web Series)
Genre: Ambiguous/Open Ending, Being Lost, Could be read as romantic, Descent into Madness, Gen, Supernatural Elements, UFOs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-03
Updated: 2020-11-03
Packaged: 2021-03-08 17:05:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,117
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27370147
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/keysmash_ghost/pseuds/keysmash_ghost
Summary: "Shane realized that Ryan was not the only one missing; he couldn’t find the crew either, which meant, to his logic, that Ryan and the crew were not the ones lost. He was."Shane gets lost in the woods during an investigation of the Rendlesham Forest incident. Or basically my love letter to the song Frozen Pines by Lord Huron.
Relationships: Ryan Bergara & Shane Madej
Comments: 2
Kudos: 11





	Frozen Pines

Shane woke up with a painful headache and the feeling of freezing cold. He opened his eyes, only seeing bald trees and bushes in the pale moonlight that was shining through the branches. He searched through the dried leaves on the ground for his flashlight, shivering at the sound of the wind soaring through the sleeping forest.

He found the torch and with a click of a button warm yellow light painted the creepy-looking trees into something friendlier. He looked around, shining the light in every possible direction. _“Where’s Ryan?”_ he thought. And with that, he called out his friend's name in the depth of the night, loud and clear.

No answer.

He tried again, louder this time, his legs moving him in forward way too slowly as if he were bound to the spot where he was standing. Still no answer. Something was very wrong.

He took out his phone from the pocket of his jacket, desperately hoping for signal and then he called Ryan’s number. _Beep…beep_ it seemed like ages and Shane cursed when nobody picked up. He wasn’t the type of person to panic but this situation called for it. He tried to remember what happened: they were shooting an episode for Unsolved, they came to these woods because some people had reported UFO sightings in the fucking 80’s which was _almost 40 years ago_ … and then Shane realized that Ryan was not the only one missing. He couldn’t find the crew either, which meant, to his logic, that Ryan and the crew were not the ones lost. _He was._

He couldn’t remember anything, least of all how he got lost, but then the thought of him having a camera came to his mind. He could watch the footage and see what happened. He'd probably dropped it when he… fell?... tripped?... he definitely hit his head because he had a splitting headache. Anyways, he got on his knees and started searching through the fallen leaves again, anxiety eating away his brain with every second that went by. He was left empty handed however, despite all his efforts.

He stood up and took a deep breath, cold air filling his lungs. _“There must be a trail somewhere, or a road that I can find”_ he thought and started walking through the woods, shouting his friends’ names into the air every now and then, to no avail.

The naked trees turned into thick pines as he walked deeper and deeper into the forest, it was like an ocean. The temperature dropped and Shane noticed the tiny snowflakes falling from above. “Great, why did we come here in _January_?” he muttered. The snow crunched under his boots as he walked, absently shining his flashlight through the thick curtain of pines. He stopped suddenly, hearing footsteps from somewhere behind him. “Ryan?” he called out quietly.

Nothing.

Then a bush moved just on his left and Shane could’ve sworn he saw a figure disappearing behind its evergreen leaves.

Without thinking, he followed. He ran as if he were being chased; branches tugged on his clothes and scratched his skin, but he didn’t stop.

Then, out of nowhere, there was a clearing and Shane looked up at the sky. It was clear night, with millions of stars and galaxies shining through the thick darkness of the universe. And yet, it was still snowing, despite the lack of clouds. If Shane had been in any other situation, he would have said something like: _“Maybe there’s a logical explanation to this_ _”_ but right there and then, he didn’t care. He didn’t care that it was impossible. He felt something calling him, something up there among the stars. “Shane” he heard a voice echoing in his head and then _just_ next to his ear. A voice he could recognize anywhere. “Ryan?” he turned around but there was no one in sight.

Was he going crazy? A few hours in the woods alone and he already had hallucinations? Well that’s just great! But then again, it seemed much longer than a few hours. He checked the time on his phone and sure enough, it showed 9:51 pm and they started the shoot around 5 that evening just after dusk. He stared at the screen with a blank expression, he thought about calling someone again but there was no signal. And then he heard his name being called out once more. It was barely audible, nothing more than a whisper. "Shane".

He felt something deep inside his chest, a feeling strong like an instinct, pulling him across the dry meadow and into the woods on the other side.

And then he was running again, chasing something he wanted to reach with blind determination. He got a glimpse of a bright light through the trees and he followed it, somehow knowing that if he can reach the source of it he will find his best friend. A sharp branch cut into the skin on his face just above his eyebrows, drawing blood. He ignored it. He was so close to being free, so close to finding Ryan, to get answers, to end this, just a few feet…

He reached the end of the treeline and tried to catch his breath as he stared into the blinding white light.

All of a sudden, memories hit him like a train rushing along the tracks.

 _They were in the woods, shooting the episode, and then Ryan saw something amongst the trees and he followed the light, and Shane followed Ryan. And then all he could remember was running and being out of breath and Ryan shouting his name and a bright light up in the sky_ …  
just like the one that was right in front of him now.

He took a deep breath and looked up searching for the source of the light but it seemed to be coming from the sky, as if it were part of it. Shane didn’t know where it began and where the sky ended. It was as if he were in a dream but he had never felt more real and alive.

“Shane!” he heard Ryan’s voice again and he could almost see the other’s eyes and in them the fear of something unexplainable that Shane himself couldn’t see. _(Or maybe just didn’t want to believe)._ But now he _did_ see and it should’ve scared him; the unknown that he couldn’t explain. And yet, he wasn’t afraid. His body moved on its own and he didn’t even realize that he was standing at the edge where the light hit the ground.

“I’m here” he said, taking a deep breath.

He thought of Ryan one more time before stepping into the light.


End file.
